Tri-State Outdoor News

The first time I watched Chad Miles fish, he caught a 23-inch largemouth bass within the first 10 minutes. Tossing a straight-tailed, 6-inch plastic worm beside a submerged flat rock, he took his hand off the handle of his spinning reel as his lure fluttered to the bottom of Nolin River Lake.

He gently shook the rod tip a few times, and then slowly lowered the tip. The rod cracked upward and bowed as he stuck that big hog. He told me the Shakey style was dynamite on Nolin River Lake. He wasn’t lying. More »

This is the time of year that Tri-State panfish anglers wait for all year. The weather has warmed and the bluegills are staking out their spawning territory in the shallows. Clusters of tightlypacked beds seem to spring up overnight, and suddenly spawning bluegills are everywhere. This is the perfect time to take that youngster fishing with you!

The aggressive and territorial bluegills (and redear sunfish) are quick to pounce on almost any bait that invades their space, so the fishing can be quite exciting. It often doesn’t matter whether you use live bait or small artificials, either. Just get a bait into the strike zone, and then get ready for action. More »

As Spring and camping season rolls around, it’s time to restock your camping supplies. Putting basics back in the camper can save time and ensure you don’t miss any meals.

Since we have really cold winters here in the Midwest, I remove most food items from the RV when I winterize the rig in late fall. Some of the items I put in a large sealable container. When Spring comes, I simply take them back to the RV for the upcoming camping season. More »

The truth of the matter is that habitat loss is a direct result of our impact on the environment – so it only stands to reason it’s also our responsibility to restore it. Thanks to the habitat programs of the National Wildlife Federation and the Indiana Wildlife Federation we can all make a difference even if it’s just a few acres at a time.

The acreage of our certified backyard habitat allows us the space to provide natural habitat for wildlife in a variety of ways. Native trees, shrubs and flowering plants provide food, shelter and places to raise young. We use some of the fallen branches from the trees to make brush piles and some of the leaves in mulch. A seasonal pond supplies a natural water source and the rocky terrain of our woodland habitat offers shelter. The rocks are a special place to watch skinks as they stretch out to soak in the sun. After a rain the rocks offer a place for us to observe butterflies getting drinks of water from little recesses in the rocks. Rocks are plentiful here so we use them to border many of the garden areas. With slopes and hills, the rocks help to hold in the mulch and soil during heavy rains. We’ve found by using just rocks and mulch you can make great pathways. More »

No, I am not talking about what the preacher was saying last Sunday. What I am telling you about is an Off-Road park located in Huntsville, Tennessee – the Brimstone Recreation Area.

Brimstone is a privately owned off-road playground sitting on approximately 20,000 acres in northeastern Tennessee with 400 miles of mostly challenging trails. That’s the “fire” part of it – the terrain will set your soul on fire. For almost 2 years I have been chomping at the bit to make the trip to Brimstone. I had ridden on both sides of this area in the past at Windrock to the south and Royal Blue to the north. But Brimstone’s forte is catering to the side-by-side crowd, so when I was making the trip it was going to be with my Teryx or not at all. More »

Now is the time to get ready for fishing season, and while I used to live by the slogan: Catch and Release, into the grease. I’ve now matured. I prefer baked fish. Not only is it healthier, it is easier in every aspect. You don’t have to deal with splattering hot grease, all the clean-up that goes with a frying fish and all the other little issues that accompany heating cooking oil to 425 degrees.

Give me baked fish any day. Let me bake fish any day. I’d much rather pop fillets in the oven than drop them into they hot oil. So here are a few recipes that cover the gamut. From the fun and friendly to the hot and spicy. I mean, in the first recipe one of the ingredients in Cheez-It cracker. You gotta love that. And the Cajun fish recipe at the bottom can be as hot and spicy as you want it. Give them a try. You might never fry your fish again. More »

When it comes to turkey hunting, I like a classic hunt as much as the next guy. One where I can call as much as I want with the tom answering every time – often with multiple gobbles to the point where it sounds as if he is about to choke and strutting around like he owns the place. The reality, however, is that these types of hunts are few and far between.

With turkey hunting growing in popularity each year, Gobblers run into more and more hunters trying to sound like seductive hens therefore becoming more educated and tougher to hunt. Like it or not, one of the best ways to consistently tote a bird out of the woods over your shoulder is to hunt them more like deer. By this, I mean that careful scouting and patience will pay big dividends on tough toms. This is especially important if you are hunting smaller tracts of land that do not afford you the opportunity to run and gun thus covering lots of ground. More »

For most of us when we think of a guide, a vision pops into our mind of a rugged man on a horse leading a group of “dudes” through a beautiful mountain pass in Colorado. In actuality guides come in all shapes, sizes, age and sexes, and lead people on hunting and fishing excursions in every state in the nation. Some guides work in surprisingly congested areas on the fringes of some of the largest cities in the country. The term guide carries a certain mystique about it. When you meet a person claiming to be a guide you assume he or she has certain qualifications in order to lay claim to such a glorious title.

In some states that would be true. In the majority of states where hunting and fishing are major industries, the state requires a potential guide to purchase a guide’s license. However, before an individual can purchase the license he or she must possess certain basic skills. These skills are usually first aid and survival skills and have nothing to do with his or her hunting or fishing expertise.

Over the years I’ve hired numerous fishing guides. Most were hired to take me saltwater fly fishing to some desolate location in the Caribbean. One guide was good, some of them were below average and most were terrible. More »

Every season has beauty but none quite like the long-awaited beauty of spring that bursts with color and song. The silence of winter is replaced with a calming chorus of frogs. The active birds fill the yard with song and movement.

Our woodland habitat gives us many opportunities to see native plants in bloom during spring. The redbud trees splash bright color in the woods with tiny flowers of pink that cover the branches all around. The flowers on the sassafras trees have a wonderful buttery color that is enhanced by surrounding dogwoods. By looking up into the canopy from ground level you may not be able to fully appreciate the flowers of a yellow poplar or tulip tree. View the flowers from the side or get a glimpse down into the flower and you will see that the lime green tulip shaped flowers are filled with vivid orange and yellow. One tree not to miss in full bloom is the black locust. Locust trees bare prickly branches that you will painstakingly want to avoid but the trees are definitely worth seeking out. In spring the locust tree is draped with clusters of sweetly scented white flowers that hang throughout the branches. More »

When it comes to off-roading, it can be fairly simple to develop an over-inflated opinion of our knowledge and skills when it comes to our riding techniques and practices. There are risks in being over confident as well as not having a clue and hitting the trail, which can rise up and hit back at any time.

There’s a lot more to think about than hitting the gas and hanging on. I know for myself, the times I have been injured while riding were purely because of misuse and poor judgement. I’m not saying you can’t have an accident riding exactly how you should, but most of the time, we cause our own problems by not paying attention. The real fact of the matter is that the sport we choose to participate in does pose a risk to our health and we need to realize that. More »